The Hindu Business Line : Snow and sand

It’s fascinating to view the Himalayas from the high-altitude of an aeroplane. Depending on the time of day, the colours of the mountains vary from dazzling white to pink, golden yellow and shades of blue. My flight from Delhi to Leh, cuddling the mountain ranges freshly clad from a heavy snowfall the previous night, proved extra scenic.

Leh is an enigmatic land of sand and snow. Where else can you build a snowman on snow-covered mountains and ride camels amongst the sand dunes, all in the same place and at heights exceeding 11,500 ft? Situated in Jammu and Kashmir, nearly 81 per cent of the people in Leh are Buddhist.

Before leaving Mumbai, I telephoned my hotel at Leh which advised me to postpone my visit by a fortnight or so — it was snowing and we might not be able to move around. But I refused to change my plans.

Leh can be reached by road from Srinagar or Manali (Himachal Pradesh). The journey takes you through some of the highest motorable roads in the world. But it is time-consuming and during most of April the roads are usually covered with ice and snow. So, we took a flight from Delhi. Down below, everything was white — mountains, glaciers, rivers and lakes were all covered with dazzling snow — it was a mesmerising sight. Finally, the plane landed in Leh, the capital of Ladakh.

First Day is for Rest

Binoy Gupta

A pashmina sheep

At an altitude of about 11,500 ft, the oxygen content is quite low in Leh. So, you should spend most of the first day in the hotel itself, to get acclimatised. Many tourists experience mountain sickness; do remember to carry some medicines with you. In the evening, we strolled around the marketplace. We walked through the narrow lanes behind the mosque in the main market area to get a real feel of the local surroundings.

Over the next two days, we explored Leh town and the surrounding places. Leh was an important outpost on the trade route between Punjab and Central Asia. We visited Leh Palace, a nine-storey building situated on a hill, and climbed the narrow stairs to explore its intricate network of corridors and rooms. The Namgyal Tsemo Gompa (monastery) behind the palace was built around 1430 AD; we explored the ruins of an ancient fort there.

Other places of interest include Sankar Gompa (3 km); Shanti Stupa, the Japanese Peace Pagoda built in 1985 (4 km); Spituk Monastery, which affords a wonderful view of the Indus river (18 km); Stok Palace and Gompa, the current residence of the Ladakhi royalty (15 km); Dalai Lama’s Summer Palace; and the Hall of Fame — an army museum (11 km).

High ways!

What could be more exciting than travelling on the highest motorable road in the world? We set out for Khardung La pass (18,390 ft above sea level) but unfortunately, just a few kilometres from the pass, the road was blocked due to a vehicular breakdown. We were forced to abandon our journey and return, but not before we got out and played around in the snow.

From Khardung La pass, you can travel down to Diskit, the main village and headquarter of the beautiful Nubra Valley — locally known as Ldumra or valley of flowers. The journey will take you through pretty villages, green farms, myricaria, willow and poplar trees, and even sand dunes.

You can ride on a bacterian (double humped) camel from Deskit to Hunder village, a journey of about two hours. Along the way you can visit the Deskit monastery, king’s palace and the Hunder monastery. There are several hot springs just before you enter Panamik village.

Jawans and snowmen

We crossed the mighty Changla pass en route to the beautiful Pangong lake (140 km from Leh).

Along the way we visited several monasteries — Shey palace and monastery (15 km), Thiksey (20 km), Hemis (40 km) and Chemrey (40 km). At 17,350 ft, the Changla pass is the third highest motorable pass in the world. The sights here were so captivating that we could not proceed further. We played in the snow, built a snowman, chatted with the jawans there and had tea and biscuits with them. The Pangong lake (150 km) is a beautiful brackish water lake and a favourite location for Bollywood filmmakers.

The road to Lamayuru monastery (125 km), the oldest and most spectacularly set in Ladakh, took us through barren hills. But the colours of the hills are remarkable — snow white, blues, pinks and mauves. Travelling alongside us was the crystal clear Indus river, bubbling on its long journey to the sea. We spent some time in the area called Moonscape because the terrain here is similar to that found on the moon’s surface. In the village before entering Lamayuru, we saw Pashmina sheep, which gives the world’s finest wool, and the yak.

We passed Nimu, where the Zanskar river merges into the Indus river (17 km), and visited the Magnetic Hill (30 km), a unique place that is said to defy the law of gravity. A vehicle parked in neutral gear on the metallic road here actually slides uphill!

Other places of interest in Ladakh include the Lekir monastery (52 km); Alchi monastery (70 km); Dhahanu, famous as the land of pure-blooded Aryans (163 km); and Tsomoriri lake (137 km).

Activities

Ladakh is a trekker’s paradise. You can indulge in mountaineering, white water rafting and wildlife sighting.

Culture

Ladakhis continue to follow age-old traditions. Even today, many Ladakhi families send one child to the monasteries to become monks.

The Amchis, or traditional healers, are popular and dispense traditional Tibetan medicine to the villagers. There are oracles both male and female — who the villagers consult for resolving personal and health problems. The people in the region appear quite happy and content with life.

Fact File

Getting there

Road: Leh to Srinagar (434 km); Leh to Manali (473 km). The roads pass through wild, beautiful terrain; however, they are open only three months a year — from early July to September.

Rail: The nearest station is Jammu (620 km)

Air: There are several flights a day from Delhi and Srinagar.

Information: You can visit Leh and the surrounding areas in three days. A 7-10 day trip will allow you to explore more places in Ladakh.

For the latest update on the status of roads leading to Ladakh and the temperature at Leh visit http://leh.nic.in

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